Computers, such as personal computers, are subject to a variety of attacks from individuals over networks such as the Internet or Intranet. The implanting of viruses in personal computers causing the personal computer to either fail or send large amounts of email is a common type of attack. Another type of attack that is becoming increasingly prevalent is that of using a personal computer to eavesdrop on the owner of that personal computer either via audio or video information. This information is transmitted from the user's personal computer to the individual who is performing the eavesdropping. This is done by inserting a routine into the personal computer that captures audio information from a microphone attached to the computer and/or video information from a camera attached to the personal computer. In certain types of personal computer applications such as IP telephony or Net Meeting Services, the individual wishing to eavesdrop on a user's computer simply initiates one of these services and directs the information to the individual's computer. Also, the individual may simply use a legitimate application programming interface (API) to eavesdrop with the chosen API directing audio and/or video to a bugging application that had been inserted into the user's computer. Examples of such API may be but is not limited to Microsoft IP Telephone Programming Interface or Avaya IP Softphone Telephone Programming Interface.
Another way to eavesdrop utilizing a user's personal computer is to insert a routine into the personal computer that monitors the audio and/or video inputs and transmits these to an individual's computer. This type of eavesdropping is extremely difficult to detect whereas it is reasonably easily implemented.
Existing prior art solutions to preventing damage or illegal use of personal computers is done using virus scanners and firewalls. Whereas both of these techniques provide some protection against eavesdropping, they are not a fail safe mechanism.